In the midst of what felt like an endless skid, winless in their past eight matches, the Red Bulls finally secured the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with a dominant 3-0 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps in front of a sellout crowd of 25,219 at Red Bull Arena on Saturday.

Though the final score might suggest there never was a need to fret, it was far from the case in the first half. The Red Bulls dominated the Western Conference leaders, often parking in Vancouver’s third of the field, but nothing materialized from their possession until winger Danny Royer electrified a weary crowd in the 33rd minute.

“I think even he saw how much the team needed him [back],” coach Jesse Marsch said of Royer, who notched his 12th goal of the season on a left-footed blast past goalkeeper David Ousted. “It’s part quality, it’s part mentality, it’s part belief and it’s part commitment.”

Royer’s goal marks his second in his first two consecutive starts since he missed seven games with a knee injury.

Though Vancouver was without defensive cog Kendall Waston and rising MLS star Yordy Reyna, the inclusion of the pair wouldn’t have made much of a difference. The Whitecaps managed zero shots while the Red Bulls controlled nearly 60 percent of possession in the first half.

The Red Bulls had 18 shots compared to Vancouver’s three by the end of the match.

“At the end of the day, you look at the scoreboard and see if you’ve answered the questions,” defender Connor Lade said. “It was a big step for the [defense] tonight.”

Marsch had challenged his backline in training to play at a higher level after several bad mistakes in past weeks.

With Vancouver held by Lade and wingback Kemar Lawrence, the Whitecaps couldn’t find a way to slow down the Red Bulls. In the 58th minute, teen revelation Tyler Adams threaded two Vancouver defenders to find forward Bradley Wright-Phillips, who cheekily chipped Ousted for his 17th goal of the season.

“Each of [Adams’] performances gets bigger and bigger and bigger to the point where he’s the best player on the field,” said Marsch, who takes pride in Adams’ evolution.

Midfielder Felipe rifled another insurance goal in the 72nd minute, then celebrated by hiding the ball under his jersey, a nod to his pregnant wife, Nicole.

Despite the win, the Red Bulls remain an enigma. On some nights, they look unstoppable but on others, they look like the league’s worst team.

But on this night, they looked like they could contend for the MLS Cup.

“I think this group will relish being the underdog,” Marsch said. “We’ve been the favorite. We’ve had the target on our back, and I think this is the kind of group that will enjoy having everybody think that they can’t achieve their goals.”